This invention relates to electrical connecting means for making electrical connections between relatively fine coil wires and lead wires extending from a coil.
In the manufacture of electrical devices such as motor stators and induction coils, it is necessary to connect the ends of the coil wire to lead wires which extend from the coil. The coil wires are frequently relatively fine gage and the lead wires are often relatively coarse as compared to the coil wires. In many manufacturing processes, the coil is wound on the bobbin or on a motor stator by an automatic winding machine and at the conclusion of the winding operation, the ends of the coil wire are connected to electrical terminals mounted in a housing adjacent to the winding. At a later stage in the manufacturing operation, the lead wires are connected to the same terminals. U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,725,707; 3,979,615; and 4,026,013 show several types of connecting means for making these electrical connections to coil wires on induction coil bobbins and coils wound on motor stators.
The present invention is directed to the achievement of an improved connecting means for coil wire-lead wire connections which can be used on relatively small induction coil wires and relatively coarse lead wires. The connecting means comprises an insulated housing having first and second terminal-receiving cavities extending therein and a double-ended terminal device having first and second contact terminals at its ends. The second cavity has locating means for the coil wire so that the coil wire can be positioned in the second cavity and, upon insertion of the second terminal into the cavity, contact is established with the coil wire and the terminal device will be firmly held on the housing. Thereafter, the lead wire is inserted into the first cavity and the terminal device is bent in a manner such that a first terminal enters the first cavity and establishes electrical contact with the lead wire. After insertion of the first terminal into the first cavity, the terminal device will be recessed below the surface of the first cavity and the electrical connections will be contained in the cavities and protected from the atmosphere and from physical damage.
The connecting means, including the terminal device, are compatible with standard manufacturing process for manufacturing small coils, in that after the coil has been wound on a bobbin, the terminal devices can be connected to the ends of the coil wire by inserting the second contact terminals into the second cavities. At that stage of the manufacturing process, the electrical connections to the coil wires will have been established and at the subsequent stage of the manufacturing process, the lead wires can be connected to the terminal devices, and therefore to the ends of the coil wire, by inserting the ends of the lead wires into the first cavities, as explained above. In the interim, between the insertion of the second terminals into the second cavities and the insertion of the lead wires into the first cavities and bending of the terminal, the bobbin with the coil wound thereon can be handled and transported without danger of damage to the electrical connections. The invention is also directed to improved strain relief means for the lead wires so that the electrical connections of the lead wires to the terminals will not be damaged upon flexing of the lead wires.